United Kingdom MMXV

New Zealand-based death metal trio, ULCERATE will be heading to the UK for an extensive autumn tour, and they’ll be bringing doom duo BELL WITCH with them. The eleven date run will kick off in the capital on October 8, marking the start of what is sure to be one of this year's most devastatingly heavy tours.

ULCERATE were last in Europe - although not the UK - last year in support of their crushing 2013 release Vermis, which Revolver magazine called “downright suffocating”. On this tour ULCERATE will be obliterating cities throughout the country, cherry picking the most sonically challenging and aggressive tracks from their back catalogue, leaving an indelible mark on attendees.

ULCERATE's Jamie Saint Merat commented: "After being unable to logistically make the UK a part of our 2014 European tour, it's going to be great to return to the region for a full run. And having Bell Witch along for the ride is going to be pure and absolute audio decimation..."

The recent release of BELL WITCH's punishing album, Four Phantoms, has left UK fans eager for a return to these shores. The album, along with their reputation for ferocious live performances, has seen interest in BELL WITCH reach fever pitch over the past few months. Receiving critical acclaim across the board for Four Phantoms - Terrorizer magazine scored it 10/10 and declared it "one of the year's finest metal releases" - has prepared the ground for this tour, and for BELL WITCH to burrow further in to the minds of their audience on this side of the Atlantic.

Odium shirt & hoodie

January 2015

Gratitude

December 2014

Ulcerate extends our sincere gratitude to all who attended the Confronting Entropy European tour shows - one day since our 45 hour return flight and we're already feeling the post-tour depression lurking...

And to the mighty Wormed who decimated all 24 nights with exceptional audial violence - as well as Gigan, Solace of Requiem, Départe and of course Luuk and Alex from Doomstar Bookings and all involved in the running and promoting of the shows - we salute you all!

Kassel venue change

November 2014

The December 12th venue in Kassel, Germany has changed to Goldgrube

Odium shirt

November 2014

New 'Odium' shirt and hooded sweatshirt design in preparation for the Confronting Entropy European tour in a matter of weeks. Also available in girls sizes. This is one of 3 designs we'll have available.

New shirt design

September 2014

New 'Imperious' shirt design added to the store, as seen on the Vermis North America MMXIV tour. Various sizes of other designs also unearthed from the vaults, very limited quantities though.

Gorguts + Ulcerate, New Zealand

September 2014

Ulcerate will be supporting the almighty Gorguts in Auckland, New Zealand on November 13th.

Last European dates added

September 2014

The 3 remaining TBC dates for the Confronting Entropy European Tour MMXIV have now been filled:

Via Earsplit PR:
"In the wake of their recent and first full-on invasion of North America, revolutionary New Zealand death metal trio, ULCERATE, will return to the European continent this Fall.

ULCERATE today issues their warning that the Confronting Entropy European Tour MMXIV has been declared, the excursion bringing the band back to Europe on a massive trek set to run from November 21st through December 14th. Continuing to tour in support of their worldwide-acclaimed third full-length, Vermis, released in September through Relapse Records, on the upcoming twenty-four city raid ULCERATE will be paired with Spanish sci-fi death metal cult, Wormed, also supported by Gigan, Solace of Requiem and one more act to be confirmed. Additional info on this venture will be announced in the coming weeks.

The Confronting Entropy European Tour MMXIV follows ULCERATE’s previous runs in support of their acclaimed new album, most recently their Vermis North America MMXIV Tour which engulfed most of the month of May and led the band to one of the main indoor slots at this year’s Maryland Deathfest. While Vermis is an incredibly extreme, cerebral and devastatingly creative body of work in its own right, the band performs the new songs with unbelievable strength and seamless professionalism, the mere thee-piece lineup mesmerizing and devastating audiences with a relentless tsunami of cutting-edge, technical and overall supremely ominous attack."

NYC live videos

June 2014

Ulcerate, one of our favorite (as well as possibly one of the only we know of?) bands from the wondrous land of New Zealand, recently wrapped up a string of shows in the US. Along the way they hit Saint Vitus in Brooklyn, and Nick Cusworth was there to capture them in all their furious glory. Better yet, he was able to use the power of GoPro to give us a better-than-front-row seat to one of the best drummers in the game currently, Jamie Saint Merat. Click through the jump to see videos from their entire set, including a few drum-cam-only playthroughs.

Fort Wayne, IN - Venue change

March 2014

Our Fort Wayne date (May 17) has had a venue change from Brass Rail to CS3.

Vermis North America MMXIV tour

February 2014

In support of their most demoralizing recorded works to date with their fourth LP, Vermis, New Zealand death metal innovators, ULCERATE, will bring their audio terror to North American fans this Spring, on their second tour of the continent.

Sponsored by Metal Injection, ULCERATE will inundate the American and Canadian peoples for nineteen days and nights on the Vermis North America MMXIV tour, which will include the band’s first shows on the West Coast. Beginning the first day of May, the horde will bring their incredibly destructive, dynamic style of delivering the most extreme, cutting edge death metal imaginable to a clockwise arc of cities, the mayhem coming to a close with a performance at the massive, annual Maryland Death Fest on May 25th. Support for ULCERATE will be provided by Relapse lablemates, Inter Arma, on the majority of the dates, joining the tour in Philadelphia on the 9th and pushing through until May 21st, the final date of the tour before MDF.

Vermis North America MMXIV will be ULCERATE’s first return to the continent since their initial stateside mini-tour in 2012, culminated with their memorably punishing set at Maryland Deathfest that year. Stated the band on the upcoming live incursion, "After months of planning we are now in full lockdown mode with rehearsals for what is going to be one of the most intense tours we've done to date. We can't wait to bring the Vermis material to life and finally attack both East and West coasts of the continent - particularly with Inter Arma joining us for the second half of the run."

May 01 // Los Angeles, CA @ Complex

May 02 // San Francisco, CA @ Elbo Room

May 03 // Portland, OR @ Tonic Lounge

May 04 // Seattle, WA @ The Highline

May 06 // Sacramento, CA @ Starlight Lounge

May 09 // Philadelphia, PA @ Boot & Saddle

May 10 // NYC, NY @ St Vitus

May 11 // Boston, MA @ Middle East Upstairs

May 12 // Montreal, QC @ Les Katacombes

May 13 // Rouyn-Noranda, QC @ Le Petit Theatre

May 14 // Toronto, ON @ Comfort Zone

May 15 // Detroit, MI @ Corktown Tavern

May 16 // Chicago, IL @ Cobra Lounge

May 17 // Fort Wayne, IN @ Brass Rail

May 18 // Columbus, OH @ Carabar

May 19 // Pittsburgh, PA @ The Shop

May 20 // Richmond, VA @ Strange Matter

May 21 // Springfield, VA @ Empire

May 25 // Baltimore, MD @ Maryland Deathfest

Necessarily Loud - 50 Essential Heavy Albums From 2013

November 2013

Between Gorguts’ Colored Sands and Ulcerate’s Vermis, technical death metal raised the stakes considerably in 2013 for any contenders or pretenders in the years to come. Where Gorguts (among others) might look at their songs as a virtuosic undertaking rightfully devoid of any organic meanderings, Ulcerate give their music an autonomy while still holding together the scorching technical prowess of their associated genre. Vermis shows a band who, with this their fourth full length, have discovered the inherent value of instinct over influence as the songs here, while inarguably razor sharp and death metal of the most unrelenting variety, are not tethered to any one notion of what death metal or technical death metal should be. This less restrictive approach to their songwriting and deadly precise focus is precisely what makes Vermis an easy pick for one of 2013’s essential heavy releases...

Vermis drum tracking video

October 2013

Sick Drummer Magazine is proud to bring you this exclusive Jamie Saint Merat - Ulcerate - 'Vermis' drum tracking video. The video is a montage of various tracks from the 'Vermis' tracking session recorded in February/March 2013 at MCA Studios, Auckland, New Zealand. The mix is drum-specific, no editing, no quantizing! Audio engineering by Jamie Saint Merat & Michael Hoggard. Mixed by Jamie Saint Merat and mastered by Alan Douches at West West Side, New York. The music was written by Michael Hoggard & Jamie Saint Merat and lyrics by Paul Kelland. Art & layout were also handled by Jamie Saint Merat.

MDF XII

October 2013

We are proud to announce we will be performing at Maryland Deathfest XII next year... further North American dates to follow

Second song released

August 2013

When it comes to Ulcerate, we’ve gotta talk about tone. With each release, Ulcerate’s production standards change slightly, but the filth-ridden atmosphere created by Michael Hoggard’s guitar tone is truly unique. The blackness and hopeless abandonment of floating through space combines with the crushing force of a black hole to form Ulcerate’s sound — a sound which continues throughout the entire ‘Vermis’ album.

Ulcerate is truly one of the heaviest, most atmospheric and precise death metal bands in the world. If you’re feeling a sonic need to have your head both engaged and crushed in at the same time, take a listen to Ulcerate’s new track ‘Weight of Emptiness’ in the player below.

Sonic Forge Fest

August 2013

We will be playing the Sonic Forge festival in Melbourne, Australia in November. Further Australasian dates will be announced soon. Further details at via Facebook.

First song released

August 2013

Vermis In-Studio

July 2013

Via Earsplit Compound:

"Following the recent unveiling of the details on ULCERATE’s impending and highly anticipated fourth LP Vermis, today Relapse has leaked an in-studio video with the Auckland, New Zealand tribe as they meticulously crafted the mammoth album at hometown MCA Studios earlier this year. The combined demolishing power and technical prowess of the music the trio creates is truly jaw-dropping on every one of the band’s releases to date, and watching them hone and construct these anguished hymns piece-by-piece is enthralling for any extreme music musician or ULCERATE devotee."

"After signing ULCERATE last year, new label Relapse unveils the info on the band’s newest works as the album nears release late this Summer. After a year of writing and planning, the creation of the record came to fruition in March of this year when the band entered hometown MCA Studios. The nine passages harnessed during these sessions culminates into a nearly fifty-five minute document of the outfit’s most tumultuous craftsmanship yet, entitled Vermis. Relapse will unleash the album on CD, double LP and digitally, now confirmed for release September 17th in North America, preceded by September 13th in Germany and Benelux, and September 16th in the UK and rest of the world. Preorders have been made available here."

"Additional propaganda, hymns and more on Vermis will be announced in the coming weeks in addition to new ULCERATE tour actions for 2013."

Studio update

April 2013

We are now entering the final stages of album preparation after an extremely demanding tracking process spanning the last month and a half.

Album #4 tracking

March 2013

After almost exactly twelve months of exhaustive work we are now in the final stages of preparation for our fourth album. This week we enter the studio to track what has become a violent, monolithic piece of work.